Relationship of COVID-19-Related Fear and Self-care Behaviors with Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Mothers with a History of Covid-19 in 2021

Pregnancy under the fear of Covid-19 may bring numerous maternal and neonatal consequences. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of COVID-19-related fear and self-care behaviors with pregnancy outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the sampling was performed on 300 pregnant mothers who were referred to at Akbarabadi Educational-Medical Center in Tehran during the Covid-19 pandemic from June to September 2021. The research instruments included demographic and pregnancy information questionnaires, Carvalho's Covid-19-related self-care questionnaire, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and maternal-neonatal outcomes questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.

The mean age of 300 subjects was reported as 29.35±5.60 years. The gestational age of 266-278 days had the highest frequency (36%). Furthermore, the mean gestational age for all participants was 262.11±18.76 days. Moreover, 1% and 3.6% of subjects had the most and least severe COVID-19-related fear, respectively. Maternal outcomes were positively and significantly correlated with fear of COVID-19. Higher mean scores of fear were associated with more maternal outcomes; nonetheless, there was no relationship between neonatal outcomes and COVID-19-related Fear. Self-care behaviors were not correlated with maternal outcomes; however, they were related to neonatal consequences.

Fear of Covid-19 was associated with an increase in the adverse consequences of pregnancy; therefore, it is necessary to raise mothers' awareness of Covid-19 and reduce their fear by training them on correct self-care behaviors and health protocols.